Free repairs help local families stay in homes

On Saturday, some 800 volunteers worked to fix up the homes of 40 low-income families in Alexandria. Here, work is being done on Dorothy Turner's house. (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)
On Saturday, some 800 volunteers worked to fix up the homes of 40 low-income families in Alexandria, Virginia. Here, work is being done on Dorothy Turner’s house. (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)
Here, Michelle Cruickshank (left) of Rebuilding Together Alexandria poses with Frances Brown outside her home. Brown needed work done on her home that she otherwise couldn't afford. (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)
Michelle Cruickshank (left) of Rebuilding Together Alexandria poses with Frances Brown outside Brown’s home. Brown needed work done on her home that she couldn’t afford. “It touches my heart to know there’s an organization out here that can help people that need help,” Brown says.   (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)
Booz Allen volunteers take time to paint on Rebuilding Together day. (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)
Booz Allen volunteers take time to paint on Rebuilding Together day. (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)
Here, Booz Allen volunteers paint during the Rebuilding Together day. (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)
Booz Allen volunteers take time to paint on Rebuilding Together day. (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)
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On Saturday, some 800 volunteers worked to fix up the homes of 40 low-income families in Alexandria. Here, work is being done on Dorothy Turner's house. (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)
Here, Michelle Cruickshank (left) of Rebuilding Together Alexandria poses with Frances Brown outside her home. Brown needed work done on her home that she otherwise couldn't afford. (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)
Booz Allen volunteers take time to paint on Rebuilding Together day. (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)
Here, Booz Allen volunteers paint during the Rebuilding Together day. (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — On Saturday, roughly 800 volunteers picked up hammers and nails in Alexandria. Their goal — to revitalize homes for the poor and elderly for free.

“Right now, they’re fixing the porch. They’re doing the bathroom,” says Darryl Turner, whose 86-year-old mother, Dorothy, is battling Lou Gehrig’s disease. She lives along Manning Street in Del Ray.

Saturday was National Rebuilding Day throughout the nation. In Alexandria, the Rebuilding Together volunteers worked to beautify the homes of 40 low-income families. About 100 of the volunteers worked on 10 homes along one block.

Frances Brown, a school bus driver close to retiring, also lives on Manning Street.  She’s relieved to get some much-needed work done to her home that she otherwise can’t afford.

“It touches my heart to know there’s an organization out here that can help people that need help,” Brown says.

The goal is to improve the houses, so residents can stay in them longer, says Michelle Cruickshank, program coordinator for Rebuilding Together Alexandria.

The Alexandria organization has worked on 1,800 projects in the City of Alexandria since it began 29 years ago.

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